Omdia: YouTube TV on Track to Become the Largest US Pay-TV Operator by 2027

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2025--

YouTube TV is set to redefine the US television landscape. According to new forecasts from Omdia, YouTube TV will surpass Charter and Comcast to become the largest pay-TV operator in the United States by 2027, marking the first time a virtual pay-TV provider will claim the top position in the market.

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Omdia’s latest analysis highlights the rapid growth trajectory of YouTube TV and its continued expansion into traditional pay-TV territory.

US Pay-TV Market Snapshot (End of 2025)

US Pay-TV Market Forecast (2027)

“For the first time in US television history, the largest pay-TV operator will be a virtual provider,” said Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media and Entertainment at Omdia. “YouTube TV has evolved into a full pay-TV bundle, integrating linear channels, premium networks, and marquee sports properties such as NFL Sunday Ticket. This is not just another streaming service; it is the new face of US pay TV.”

YouTube’s Dual Strength: Global Video Giant and Rising Pay-TV Leader

Rua Aguete notes that YouTube’s influence extends far beyond its pay-TV platform. With nearly 3 billion global users, YouTube remains the largest video ecosystem in the world by a significant margin.

“Netflix may reach 300 million global subscribers, but alongside YouTube’s 3 billion users, it is not a dominant global player,” she said. “YouTube operates at a scale that no subscription service can match.”

This dual position, global video dominance plus rising pay-TV leadership, gives YouTube a unique strategic advantage in the media landscape.

US Streaming Market: Big, Fragmented, and Intensely Competitive

Omdia’s latest subscriber data highlights a highly fragmented US streaming market. Even as the largest single service, Netflix accounts for just 15.7% of total US SVOD subscriptions.

US Streaming Leaders in 2025 (Omdia forecast)

“The idea of Netflix as a dominant streaming service is a misconception,” Rua Aguete noted. “Audience attention and spend are spread across a wide array of platforms.”

Omdia’s research shows a clear shift toward hybrid services that blend linear TV, premium channels, live sports, UGC, and on-demand content. With YouTube TV on course to lead US pay-TV and YouTube already commanding the world’s biggest video audience, the company exemplifies where the industry is heading.

Rua Aguete also addressed consolidation pressures, noting strong interest in Warner assets.

“Paramount and Warner remain two of the most strategically valuable assets in Hollywood,” she said. “Interest from players such as Netflix or Paramount reflects the growing need for scale, premium IP, and global distribution.”

ABOUT OMDIA

Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets combined with our actionable insights empower organizations to make smart growth decisions.

YouTube TV: 3rd largest pay-TV operator in the US today, #1 in 2027

NEW YORK (AP) — The “Architects of AI” were named Time magazine's person of the year for 2025 on Thursday.

The magazine cited 2025 as the year when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view" with no turning back.

“For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year,” Time said in a social media post.

The magazine was deliberate in selecting people — the “individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI” — rather than the technology itself, though there would have been some precedent for that.

“We’ve named not just individuals but also groups, more women than our founders could have imagined (though still not enough), and, on rare occasions, a concept: the endangered earth, in 1988, or the personal computer, in 1982,” wrote Sam Jacobs, the editor-in-chief, in an explanation of the choice. “The drama surrounding the selection of the PC over Apple’s Steve Jobs later became the stuff of books and a movie.”

It made sense for Time to anoint AI because 2025 was the year that it shifted from “a novel technology explored by early adopters to one where a critical mass of consumers see it as part of their mainstream lives,” Thomas Husson, principal analyst at research firm Forrester, said by email.

AI was a leading contender for the top slot, according to prediction markets, along with tech CEOs Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Sam Altman of OpenAI. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope whose election this year followed the death of Pope Francis, was also considered a contender, with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani topping lists as well.

Trump was named the 2024 person of the year by the magazine after his winning his second bid for the White House, succeeding Taylor Swift, who was the 2023 person of the year.

The magazine's selection dates from 1927, when its editors have picked the person they say most shaped headlines over the previous 12 months.

A sign for Time magazine is displayed outside the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Donald King)